Retailer eyes move on English market to drive expansion
● Paint firm looks at ambitious growth on back of double-digit sales increases
A Scottish paint retailer is eyeing a move on the English market as part of an ambitious expansion drive which could see it almost double store numbers in the next three years.
The Paint Shed, a Stirlingheadquartered family firm, is set to open its 11th Scottish store at a site in Glenrothes next week and is already looking at a number of other locations north of the Border.
The plans to increase its footprint come amid sustained financial growth at the firm with 15 per cent year-on-year increases in sales in the last five years. Turnover in 2017 was £5.7 million and that is forecast to grow to £6.8m.
The group, which employs 39 staff, is looking to grow its Scottish store footprint to between 15-20 sites as part of a three-year expansion plan but is now also looking at its first foray into the English market.
Managing director Michael Rolland said the firm was currently in the process of exploring potential sites for stores across the north of England.
The opening of a Glenrothes store will see the business return to its roots where Rolland’s grandfather and his brother had started a decorating supply business in the area in the 1960s called Strathearn Paint Company. It grew to employ around 30 decorators and the pair established a paint store in the town to supply the tradesman as well as the public.
“It is fantastic that we are able to get back to our roots and serve local people, on both the trade and consumer side, and we are excited to have a base once again in Glenrothes,” said Rolland.
The Paint Shed already has three stores in Edinburgh along with sites in Dumbarton, Dunfermline, Glasgow, Greenock, Helensburgh and Paisley.
As well as opening new physical stores, the company has also redeveloped its website which is targeting online sales in both the UK and Europe.
According to a report by the Insight Retail group, the UK DIY market is worth in the region of £14 billion a year and started to experience positive growth after years of stagnation. The market as a whole is forecast to see growth of more than 10 per cent in the five years to 2022, an increase of 5 percentage points on the previous five years’ growth and fuelled by increased housing transactions.
Although the market is dominated by Kingfisher’s B&Q and Screwfix chains, Travis Perkins and Australian-based Wesfarmers, which acquired the Homebase chain of 265 stores in February 2016, there are numerous smaller chains as well as over 3,000 independent players. Globally, the paints and coatings market is expected to grow to be worth some $227.7bn (£163bn) by 2025.
Earlier this month Wesfarmers revealed that the costs of turning round the fortunes of Homebase contributed to a slump in profits in the second half of last year. It has warned 40 Homebase stores could be closed, risking up to 2,000 jobs.